And Rep. Loretta Sanchez wonders why she isn’t taken seriously…

Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez was at the DNC this week. Since Hillary Clinton suspended the roll call vote, Congresswoman Sanchez did not have an opportunity to make a big stink in casting her vote for Senator Clinton like she had expressed to the media earlier this month, but she did ham it up for the TMZ crew that was out on the streets outside of the convention. Check out this link, and tell me why she would bop her head about and pull a “Jessica Simpson” for the camera.

Oddly enough, Congresswoman Sanchez has a book coming out next week co-authored with her sister Linda, where she discusses the challenges of being Latina in the old boys network called Congress. If Loretta Sanchez feels that she is marginalized by her male colleagues, then why does she insist on putting herself in positions like this where she looks stoned or drunk? Is she not capable of controlling her image a little better? Then again, this is a woman who is more known for her Christmas cards than for her advocacy. Her sister Linda even criticized women who will use their sexuality to advance themselves in Congress in their book. Pot, kettle, anyone?

Loretta, if you or your staff are reading this, please, please, please go pick up a copy of Ariel Levy’sFemale Chauvinist Pigs, and read it cover to cover!

42 responses so far ↓

Too old, too flaky, and too insecure for Hugh Hefner. Too slimy, too dumb, and often too drunk to see herself in the mirror for what she is. At least Jesse Helms knew deep inside he was a racist and really couldn’t see beyond that. However, Loretta Brixey is so shameless she has no problem publicly boasting to the media about all the freebies granted her by the American taxpayer for the minimal work she does in Washington. Her public behavior is so negative she makes Joe Baca seem productive. And that’s difficult to do.

Yeah, she looks ridiculous in the video, but the comments under the video on the TMZ site (there are three pages of comments) are the real story. She has a serious scandal brewing that could end her public career. According to the bloggers, she has had, or is having, an affair with a married military man, who was assigned by the Pentagon as her security detail during official travel. The allegation on TMZ is detailed enough to be credible and actually names the officer involved. So, the facts could be verified. There have been lots of rumors about her over the years, but this takes it out of the rumor category. That doesn’t mean we should rush to judgment. She should be given an opportunity to explain. Maybe the allegations are not all true. Maybe she met the officer through official business but they are a legit couple. Or maybe she follows the usual script–the media asks her about the affair, she lies about it, gets caught in the lies, tearfully confesses, makes excuses about the pressures of public life, and gets reelected! Let the games begin.

JimmyD is right, but if the allegations were false, Loretta’s lawyers would have sued TMZ for libel and removal of the comments by now. No one in her campaign has even denied the allegations anywhere I have seen. If her relationship with the officer is kosher, then we can expect to see him mentioned in her book. If the story is in the “missing chapters” then it’s probably a scandalous affair. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Loretta (Brixey) Sanchez maintains the same attitude towards all these public scandals as most members of the Republican Party. She maintains it’s her right to do whatever she wants, and with whomever, and the law doesn’t apply to her because of her social status. She demands celebrity attention at the cost of the taxpayer, without producing any meaningful or even consistent legislation. Loretta is so shameless; her life follows the rules of a reality television show without the entertaining commercials. The fact that she is a high profile civil servant, a member of the United States Congress, has never deterred her from acting stupid, and clamoring for public attention whenever she engages television cameras and someone with a microphone. This says a lot about the mindset of the majority of voters in California’s 47th Congressional District, and their inability to decide who will best represent them in Washington. She is one of the most incompetent human beings wandering the halls of Capitol Hill, and feels totally at ease doing so.

I realize Howard Dean and the Democratic National Committee has got their hands full getting Barack Obama elected, but they need to turn their attention to the potential Democratic candidates that can run against Loretta Brixey (Sanchez). She caused a lot of problems for John Kerry in 2004, and her public behavior regarding Barack Obama seems to display a contempt for all things Democratic. Before the 47th California District returns officially to the GOP, even though as long as Loretta has been there she has pretty much voted along GOP party lines, the Democratic National Committee should turn the spotlight on this inept, idiotic, lush clamoring for any kind of attention. She represents what is so ugly about the nature of politics, and the people who inhibit that world.

Hello Everyone, First of all I am a female!
Secondly, I was looking for a book and came across all these negative attacks on LS. Is it wrong to like a female like her in congress?
Thirdly, even though I do not receive her Christmas cards, I do look forward to see them.

Loretta Brixey (Sanchez) now publicly claims she has an I.Q. of 160? So…am I to understand that all her public behavior has some broad political strategy engineered to accomplish various targeted goals for the Latino community? I speculate being so intelligent further allows Loretta the additional ability to publicly act like a bimbo, engage with all those other rocket scientists at the Playboy mansion, and limit the amount of congressional legislation her office produces in Washington for some alternative idealistic purpose? Geez…what an ego? Or maybe it’s Linda Sanchez who has an I.Q. of 160. That seems more believable.

LAR, it isn’t wrong to like a female in Congress like Loretta Sanchez if you don’t mind congressional representatives who are more known for their public antics than for actual legislative accomplishments. Maybe you like the celebrity variety of Congressional representative instead of those who are tireless advocates. It is your tax money at work. That being said, I do think that there are more effective women in Congress.

The descriptions of Rep. Loretta Sanchez that appear here are grossly inaccurate and unjust. I am an attorney and have worked with Members of the House and Senate for over five years. I represent the world’s leading corporations in the defense sector. I do not work for Rep. Sanchez, nor do I have any business pending with her. I am using a pen name. I am moved to write this note solely for the sake of justice to her and her constituents. Rep. Sanchez is the most intelligent, dedicated and hard working member of the Armed Services and Homeland Security Committees. She is always thoroughly prepared for hearings, totally focused, and refreshingly articulate. With foreign leaders and diplomats she is always poised, well-briefed and charming (in several languages). Whenever she visits American soldiers, she treats privates and generals alike with profound respect and friendly good cheer. Only someone who does not know her or harbors a political bias could say these negative things about her. I do not always agree with her politically or like the way she votes, but she is respected by members of both parties in Congress. Spend five minutes talking with her, and you will see that she is a formidable intellect and a genuinely friendly and compassionate person. Watch her perform her duties as Chairwoman of the Border, Ports and Global Counterterrorism Subcommitte, and you will see that she has total command of the issues and a deft, incisive manner with witnesses. She has been a decisive influence in many legislative initiatives over the years, and is responsible for the most sweeping legislative reform of the sexual assault provisions of the military code since its original enactment in 1950. Unless, one has observed her in her official capacity and has knowledge of the legislative process, one should not venture these ill-informed opinions about her. As for the allegations of inappropriate public behavior, they are utterly false. Anyone who knows her knows she does not drink alcohol. Rep. Sanchez has a reputation in Washington for keeping a strict schedule, avoiding late-night events, and rising faithfully at dawn every day to work out with her colleagues and trainers. The ugly things said here are untrue, and no gentleman or sincere person would write such hateful lies. Those who write such things reveal their own ignorance, rudeness and partisan bias.

Paul41, if you are who you say you are… in terms of being an attorney who works with members of Congress, why do you think Loretta Sanchez behaves as she does on camera and with the Christmas cards? You know that perception is a big part of the game. Why does she continually represent herself as a light weight if she is in fact the intellectual that you claim she is?

I have met Congresswoman Sanchez on three different occasions in Orange County, and she does not portray herself in public as you describe. While I don’t know if anyone has ever tested LS’s blood alcohol level, etc., and I cannot make determinations as to her level of intoxication or sobriety for that matter… I will tell you that she gives off an intoxicated, ditzy vibe, very similar to how she acted on the TMZ video that was linked to in the original blog post. So this TMZ link is not a complete shock.

Perhaps LS has multiple personalities that she displays to different constituents. You don’t see her sister behaving this way in public… at least not yet???

And I’m happy to hear that LS treats our military personnel with respect. That is wonderful. Hopefully, she will be more vociferous about bringing those who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan home. She did have the foresight to vote against the Iraq war authorization, and that was one of her more positive moves.

Webmaster, Loretta is an energetic, fun-loving and funny lady, who remains young at heart. That itself is an amazing feat when one works among verbose windbags with big&tall sized egos for 12 years, as she has. Let’s not confuse style and substance. She wears her power lightly and considers ordinary people more important than herself. You will find that she is quite capable of adjusting her demeanor to fit the occasion. A papparazzi ambush by a hollywood gossip team is hardly an occasion for serious policy discussion. They asked her about parties, food, concerts, etc. She responded playfully. My point was to encourage your readers to watch Loretta on C-SPAN as she runs committee hearings or debates policy issues in a serious setting. Judge her work on that basis. She is quite remarkable. Don’t take a 50-second clip of Loretta joking around and say she is not a serious legislator. That is an obvious distortion. I don’t get the impression that your blogger are really giving her a fair shake or portraying her fairly. Believe me, she is not ditzy on the job. She has all the markers of high intelligence–multilingual, prodigous memory, sense of humor, facility with mathematics, etc. If one expects an intellectuals and legislators to be quiet and boring, then she certainly doesn’t fit the mold. In fact, she breaks the mold and defies our stereotypes and expectations. My admonition is to take a serious look before passing judgment. (And, yes, I am who I claim to be!)

Paul41, I have no problem with congressional representatives being fun or energetic.

I do have a problem with women who complain about being condescended to because they are women or who complain about other women who use their sexuality to advance themselves, yet have no trouble doing it themselves. Could you imagine Gloria Steinem or even someone like Hillary Clinton complaining about being treated differently as a woman and then producing a Christmas card with their legs front and center with a kitty cat on their laps and a caption “Pet the cat”? Maybe it is a matter of taste, but I don’t know why Loretta Sanchez would feel the need to lower herself to that kind of standard. These antics don’t advance the cause of women and by extension Latinas. Latinas have to work hard to combat this image that we are spitfires, hot tamales, maids, etc., and Loretta Sanchez panders to some of our worst stereotypes by embracing this “I’m hot, look at my legs” persona or by acting like a “dumb blonde” for the cameras.

I would love to see Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez concentrate more on her congressional record instead of cultivating this “fun, energetic” sexually charged image. Do you think that she behaves this way to divert attention from her congressional record? I just looked her up again on govtrack.us, and this statement sticks out, “Loretta Sanchez has sponsored 69 bills since Jan 7, 1997, of which 58 haven’t made it out of committee and 1 were successfully enacted.” By contrast, let’s look at a colleague of hers from California, another Latina who has been in Congress fewer years, Hilda Solis, “Hilda Solis has sponsored 71 bills since Jan 3, 2001, of which 57 haven’t made it out of committee and 5 were successfully enacted.” Interesting how Congresswoman Solis can accomplish more than LS in less amount of time, huh?

I am hopeful that Loretta Sanchez’s record will one day speak for itself instead of her having to avert our attention with questionable holiday cards or goofy displays for camera crews. She’s almost 50 years old for goodness sake!

Bravo, Webmaster! You hit the nail on the head. When the Sanchez sisters complain about sexism in Congress, it is impossible to take them seriously. They complain about sexual harassment in the halls of Congress and then publish holiday cards like the one above, inviting all eyes to feast on Loretta’s lovely bare legs and to “pet the cat.” Hmmm. What message is she broadcasting? Respect me for my mind and work? Please. Now we learn that Playgirl Loretta has been using her power and position to obtain sexual favors from her married Pentagon escort. Why are we not surprised? Loretta’s record already speaks for itself. Webmaster, you should do a separate post on Loretta’s scandal, calling on her to deny, explain or admit the allegations. Let’s finally hold her accountable for her conduct.

Webmaster, I appreciate your views on the holiday card and other matters of style, but personally I do not find the card offensive or even all that risque. Most folks seems to enjoy her holiday cards, and the complaints about her style seem to be based on individual taste or exaggerated by political enemies. As for counting legislation, that is not a meaningful way to assess any congressman’s impact or effectiveness. First, one must look at the quality of the legislation. Loretta’s reform of military law is a far-reaching and enormously significant change in military policy which advances the integration of women in the armed forces. Many legislators pass bills to rename post offices, but few make major changes in public policy. Second, it is pointless to compare Loretta’s legislative record to Rep. Solis, because they work on different committees and issues in the Congress. Their legislative work have different needs and goals. Finally, a member of Congress has responsibilities and impact well beyond just writing legislation. Loretta debates, amends and votes on legislation across the board, whether she initiated it or not. She brokers deals, runs a homeland security oversight committee, secures appropriations for Orange County projects and companies, and shapes the way Congress deals with military policy. For example, one of the bills that she initiated but failed to pass was the first bill in Congress to regulate the military commissions trials at Guantanamo Bay. While her bill did not pass, she was two years ahead of her colleagues and the Supreme Court in demanding legislative reform of the President’s treatment of detainees. She had a direct and significant impact on the laws that Congress ultimately passed. From what I have seen, she works hard, takes her responsibilities very seriously, spends most holidays visiting our troops overseas, and travels back to her district every week to work in her community. I believe her record does speak well of her work on behalf of her constituents and the nation. I would think that the Latino community would be very proud of her accomplishments.

Since it’s rather obvious Paul41 that you are either romancing Loretta Brixey, or have been hired by her in a public relations ploy to fictionalize her public image, your comments here represent an insult to the intelligence of all these taxpayers who are using this internet forum to express their public embarrassment by the lewd, lazy, and deceptive public behavior of Loretta Brixey (Sanchez). Your attempt here to glorify her non-productive legislative record, her Christmas cards, and highlight her Homeland Security oversight committee achievements reeks of mass duplicity since any American taxpayer with half a brain knows that the Department of Homeland Security is another layer of bureaucracy created by the Bush Administration to fiscally fleece the American taxpayer and continuously spy on its citizens by utilizing an entire governmental department to create an aura of fear. Her Christmas cards speak for themselves, and her legislative record is one of the worse in Congress. Your credibility is even further stained by your profession, and its continuous feeding at the public trough. For those of us who have engaged in with Loretta while she is publicly intoxicated, or in the middle of one her lewd sexual commentaries towards other attractive females, our views on her remain the same. Maybe you’re confusing Loretta Brixey (Sanchez) with Hilda Solis. Now there is a Congressperson with class, a work ethic, and the ability to stay sober in public.

No, Kaiser, you are wrong on every point, as always. I simply saw these misrepresentations and tried to correct them by suggesting that responsible readers take the time to learn about Loretta by watching her do her job and looking at her record. I am doing this without being paid or romanced by Rep. Sanchez. All of my factual assertions are verifiable, and I have given my opinion honestly based on observations of her committees over a long period of time. You, on the other hand, appear to be incapable of anything but rudeness, innuendo and ad hominem attacks. You continually embarass yourself in this way, and you are incapable of offering a single shred of evidence to support your lies about her alleged public drunkeness or lewdness. Those who actually know Rep. Sanchez professionally, know that she does not drink alcohol and is never intoxicated. Finally, I notice that you do not deny her legislative leadership on military justice reform and detainee treatment policy. That is all a matter of public record. Furthermore, anyone can watch her conduct hearings on C-SPAN.

Kaiser, I can see from your comments that further exchanges would be fruitless, so I will sign off with this note and simply reiterate my challenge to take a good look at her record before your pass judgment. As for your vague allegations of misconduct, either offer some evidence or have the dignity to shut up. We would all appreciate it.

Well…Paul41, you can remove your head from the hole you’ve dug in the sand, and start your babble all over again. Leave your address so we can send you an invoice for being forced to read all your dribble.

Paul41 wants evidence to support The Kaiser’s allegations of public intoxication? Take a look at the TMZ video. He wants evidence of her public lewdness? Take a look at her holiday cards. Like Webmaster suggested, it isn’t hard to imagine a congresswoman with a little more class, dignity, maturity and decorum. And now we have allegations of a sex scandal. I hope the media investigates that and calls on Sanchez to respond to these allegations about her military escort service. When will somone hold her accountable?

The print and network media could care less about Loretta Brixey (Sanchez) extra curricular activities. As an inept, classless, and duplicitous Congressperson, she has neither the political clout, nor the leadership abilities to maintain, persuade or create direction or change within Congress. She is more of a tool of the Republican Party than a benefit to any Democratic goals or ideals. Why the DNC continues to tolerate her is the biggest mystery. She had a former staff member try and defend her public behavior last year, but I think he realized he knew Loretta too well and had better things to do. She’ll bleed through this Paul41 guy too. I am sure he is her latest victim. It’s her nature.

I don’t think this is that senior citizen she was hanging all over at the Azteca Restaurant. This is a younger guy probably based in DC who really doesn’t know much about her. Nevertheless, he’s probably really into strange anyway. More of our tax dollars at work.

Well, gents, it really doesn’t matter who “Paul41″ is. He’s obviously biased for some reason. Notice that he denies she’s a drunk, knows about her sleeping and workout habits, but he ventures no denial of the allegations about the affair with the married officer. Hmmm. In any case, we’re all just spinning our wheels until someone proves that Loretta has acted inappropriately or violated congressional standards of conduct by shacking up with the married Pentagon escort. These allegations are the most specific and serious I have heard. I would like to see a post on this blog that lays out the allegations and calls on Loretta to admit, deny or expalin her relationship with the married military man. TMZ and Red County blogs have raised it, but Loretta has yet to deny the allegations. If they were false, you can bet her lawyers would be screaming “libel” and getting court orders to remove the posts. Hasn’t happened. Must be true.

Loretta Brixey has made a career of political career of scandal, so none of this really new behavior. I am sure this is why she is so unproductive in Congress, and why her colleagues treat her with such contempt. There is very little to admire about her. She’s willing to do anything to focus attention on her. That’s her way. You would think the DNC would support another candidate to run against her. After all, her political behavior is more slanted towards the GOP. Maybe we should target all this to Howard Dean? The print and television media is now fully geared to promoting propaganda, instead of informing the public. So this information is meaningless to them. What do you think?

Unfortunately, the media appears to be totally uninterested in the Sanchez scandal. As for Dean, he won’t oppose a 7-term incumbent Dem who votes consistently left-liberal. Besides, Loretta has too many friends in the Dem establishment. Maybe Rep. Joe Baca would be willing to take this issue to the House leadership or ethics committee. After all, Loretta publicly accused him of calling her a whore. Maybe he’d be happy to be vindicated!

Are you sure we’re talking about Loretta Sanchez? She doesn’t constantly vote left liberal. That’s her sister Linda. She votes consistently towards the center and to the right. Loretta’s friends are at the Playboy Mansion. She has to be pretty isolated in Washington, because she can never get anything moving forward. Loretta has only had one piece of legislation actually passed into law in eleven years in office. All her legislation, and it isn’t very much, rarely makes it out of committee. Working Joe Baca is a different sort of challenge because of all the skeletons in his closet. He will not do anything, and that seems to be his political nature. That’s the problem with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. They generate very little influence on the rest of Congress because as a group they don’t do very much, and are more apt to work against each other. The only Latino Congressional representatives doing anything productive are Hilda Solis, Raul Grijalva, and Linda Sanchez. Although Linda Sanchez is no longer involved with the Hispanic Congressional Caucus. If anything is to happen it has to start with Howard Dean, and get pushed along. Although we have heard of a Vietnamese candidate in the 47th district who is gearing up to challenge Loretta, we don’t really see any changes happening in that Congressional district. And that’s too bad because they need someone else working for them.

These latest allegations are NOT like other rumors that have gone before. This is different because it is specific, names the man, and alleges conduct that could actually get her booted out of Congress. Members of Congress are not allowed to have sexual relations with their military escorts on official travel. The fact that he is (or was) married aggravates the offense. Rep. Vito Fossella (R-NY) had to step down for similar misconduct just a few months ago. Such misconduct is not a matter for Dean. It is an issue of House discipline. I think we all should write our congressmen/ women and Pelosi about this and suggest they look into it as an ethics violation. The only other thing that could get the House leaders to act against Loretta would be alot of adverse publicity. That’s my two cents.

Well…hopefully this is the smoking gun that will throw her out of Congress. She is a duplicitous person and a woman of extremely low character. The 47th Congressional District has endured eleven years of political misrepresentation. It’s been past that time for Loretta Brixey to take her show on the road somewhere else.

Loretta Sanchez’s sex scandal with Jack Einwechter has all of the elements of a great political sex scandal–a sexy pol with a slutty image, a military officer, a Playboy connection, exotic international trysts, secret lives, Washington intrigue, etc. I guess the media is too distracted by the financial meltdown and a very interesting presidential election to give this the attention it deserves. But at least we have something to look forward to in the 111th Congress a this torrid tale of lust and power unfolds! Can’t wait…

[…] Sanchez has a new holiday card. The Congresswoman does seem to be toning it down from the “pet the cat” card that hit a few years back when she posed with Gretzky, her fluffy feline, on her lap. I […]

Loretta Sanchez is a home-wrecking bitch. She is a hypocrite. I don’t think people out there know just how much of a slut she really is. What a whore. And Paul41, if you are reading this, you had better believe that I know these things for a FACT-I am a member of one of the families that SHE HAS TORN TO SHREDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You better tell me your name, or I’ll find out some other way;)

Wow I know, I hope I don’t ever step on your toe. And hope you are not in Congress!!! So do you think we should kill everyone that makes mistakes? Or perhaps we should just kill stupid people that don’t have a choice of which culture they were born into. Hey, that’s a great idea! I think you’re on to something! Lets just get rid of everyone!! This way you don’t have anything to worry bout!!!!! Love what you mean!

I am so dissapointed! I wanted to belong to a positive Latino Organization. All I have seen is latinos putting each other down. It’s no wonder we never get ahead. It’s no wonder why California was taken away from Mexico, some time ago. We need to support one another no matter what. No matter if uncle Luis takes the last peice of the cake. We need to learn to let that shit go and realize that we are a familia. We need to stand together and support one another. He said she said is bullshit!! Life happens…we are humans. So many latinos in the US (our kids) don’t see color or race anymore. They are all mix. There is latino in every single kid I’ve met at my son’s elementary. Mix but there. We are not a seperate entity anymore…we are finally united by our kids. They get so confused when we talk or fight about one race or another…when they are mix. We are one in the United States of America…Lets please set an example for our children! Yes, I have one and he is mixed, but not confused of who he is. Lets please keep it real and honest for their sake!!!

[…] servant appropriate. We have seen her spread eagle on a motorcycle and showing off her legs in a wet suit, so perhaps she may further lower the bar this year and display more of that sleazy persona she […]

4gran-Wow! A one one-minute video and a silly card-that no one except for someone with a probable anti-Latino/a axe to grind would think is “lewd” is cited as “evidence”?
I don’t know Mrs. Sanchez personally, but I am proud that Latinos have achieved something with her election-and in an area that is not conducive to the idea of electing Latinos/as. I find it repugnant that people can write that someone is a “whore,” and a “home-wrecking bitch” in an online forum. Where is the evidence for all these scandals. You would think with all the Fox New type slimeballs that something this big would be out by now.
I have never visited this blog before, but it seems that the purpose is to discuss Latino/na political successes, and not provide a forum for repugant, anonymous comments about a Latina Congresswoman being a whore.

You know-I am ok with talking about Sanchez’s politics, her public style, her possible conflicts of interest. What gets me angry is someone-anonymously- calling Ms. Sanchez a “whore” and actually saying that she’s been a “home wrecker” a “slut.” It’s kinda sick. The same commenters all over the Internet doing this makes me feel like there’s they might have some kind of vendetta against her. Googling accusations of affairs and”homewrecking,” lead to this blog and a couple others with the said commenters.
Meanwhile, the rabid right is getting off on this. Its great for them to have a Latina Congresswomen being hounded by accusations of being a slut-because it just fits into their schema of discrediting of Latinos/as (this is a common meme by racists-make the Latina look like a slut) and people of color in office so well. I have seen comments about her being an “illegal” and others mentioning her using the “wetback” vote to get into office-amongst the slut and whore accusations.
Is this the forum to talk about someone’s anonymous and so far-unproven accusations into Sanchez’ sex life?

She is a faker and a taker and she fights for no one but herself. I demand an explanation for every one of those jet settting trips to exotic locations that she has taken. How has her snorkeling helped OC. One post office being named is not helping OC. She has done nothing but pilfer for 14 years. She has to go. And may the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya!